Sunday, June 24, 2012

East Sierra Hot Springs

I went out to Grover Hot Springs State Park a few weeks ago and was exposed to a whole new part of California. South of Tahoe at the headwaters of the Carson river, Hot Springs Creek runs through Markleeville in Alpine County.

Still some snow (I need to fix my camera, as there is a spot on the lens I can't see)
Just beyond the area is the nevada desert, in the shadow of the mountains that keeps rain from falling. 
Going up the valley, across the creek

 Once there, a large meadow separates the camping area from the pools
 And it is so expansive and beautiful


I wonder how long ago this fell 

A very prominent outcrop, 7,000 feet up 


On the south side of the valley, the geology produces 125 degree seeps of spring water
So the natives used it, then pioneers, and now it is developed into a cold and hot pool looking out onto the valley
As it comes into the pool (4 feet deep). At the end of the day they drain it over an hour, so by the end you only have about 6 inches of hot water to be in, which then disappears!

 The source is just up the hill from the pools
 It all comes from here, they collect it just above the pool so there is enough for the day.
Mineral content 
This is the overflow that heads into the creek
 The meadows were full of wildflowers, despite the terrible year for them. Aren't these fluffy!


 This is a young coral root orchid/snow plant. I've posted a tall one from the fall from Calaveras before
Lupine, one of my favorites
There is a lot of hiking around too, I went out to a waterfall and saw this lava formation from eons ago
On top of the formation, these trees were sparse and kinda scraggly
 Their roots clinged to the rocks looking for some dirt
 It was hard to photograph the waterfalls, they were like cataracts, so you see a couple and then hike up to more
 This one went into a nice looking pool
 These sparrows were quite vocal, and darted about all day long
 Camping was primitive, but did have bathrooms. Here is the grill I used
 There was some flat area to camp, but lots of boulders
 Markleeville is a tiny town at the crossroads, classic small, rural California mountain town
 The county courthouse, which fits like 10 people. You have to walk in with the criminals when on the jury, it is from like 1877 or something
 The old county jail, so small

Monday, June 4, 2012

Summer Preview

Apologies for the delay, May was a very busy month! Lots of new pics, but need to digest, so here is a preview of some trips I took last summer, and what I'll be seeing again this year and posting up.


I always go to Humboldt during the summer. From the valley, you have to get over the coast range, and the fastest way is up through Lake County. Here are the mountains separating the lake from the valley (they don't look high enough to me to be able to do that, but apparently the lake prefers to drain towards the west). Note the almond grove on the right, there were tons here.
 Once over the hill, the pavement got a distinct red color, I wonder where it is from...
 Oh, this quarry. They seal the roads with this red dirt, shows the volcanic origin of the area
 This is Mt. Konocti, an extinct volcano. The lake surrounds it in three sides, I really liked the stone railing here
 Willits, gateway to the redwoods and Humboldt, if you can get through the traffic
 The rest stop was really funny, they made these concrete posts look like wood for some reason. Either be concrete or be wood, not both
The only view out to the lost coast, goes forever...
This rock has a non-PC name related to a native american woman who killed herself off of it in the 1800's in response to a white raid that killed her man
 
 Ah, the Eel river, named for the long fish that populated its waters. 101 follows its' south fork's course
This bridge goes over the river next to the largest landslide on a california highway. They made the bridge, a huge project for the area and state, to avoid the entire area

The first glimpse of the river
 OK, no more till later in the year, sorry to tease
Morning in the redwoods
 Mt. Lassen
 Mt. Shasta (I'm getting closer to both this year)
 Whiskeytown Lake
 Rando waterfall going into the lake

 Refreshing, no?
 On my way back home, uh oh! No, it can't be...
No, no! Trailers, open fields, it can't be...
 Tents, vans...
 That confirms it, anytime there is a bus in a field in Humboldt county, you can bet there is a big hippie festival going on. Damn hippies... (I'm being slightly facetious here, they are mostly really good people)
 I have no idea what they do in this dome, but it can't be anything good. lols